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#14,245
A short while ago news broke that 2 people (reportedly a 24 y.o. mother and 7 month old child) in South Kivu Province - several hundred kilometers from the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak - had been confirmed to have the Ebola Virus.
A few minutes ago (see Dr.Tedros tweet above), those reports were confirmed.Media reports indicate the mother died on Thursday, while the child is currently receiving treatment. We'll undoubtedly get more information in the hours ahead. Crofsblog does an excellent job covering the DRC's Ebola outbreak, and I'd invite you to check there often.
The regional spread of Ebola to other provinces (and even neighboring countries) - while disappointing and concerning - isn't unexpected. The WHO's latest risk assessment for the year-long Ebola outbreak in the Eastern DRC reads:
WHO risk assessment
WHO continuously monitors changes to the epidemiological situation and context of the outbreak to ensure that support to the response is adapted to the evolving circumstances. The last assessment, carried out on 5 August 2019, concluded that the national and regional risk levels remain very high, while global risk levels remain low.
Substantial rates of transmission continue within outbreak affected areas of North Kivu and Ituri provinces, with demonstrated extension to new high risk areas and across borders in recent months, although without sustained local transmission in these areas. The high proportion of community deaths, relatively low proportion of new cases who were known contacts under surveillance, existence of transmission chains linked to nosocomial infection, persistent delays in detection and isolation of cases, and challenges in accessing some communities due to insecurity and pockets of community reticence are all factors increasing the likelihood of further chains of transmission in affected communities.
The factors mentioned above, coupled with high rates of population movement from outbreak-affected areas to other parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and across porous borders to neighbouring countries, increase the risk of geographical spread – both within the Democratic Republic of the Congo and to neighbouring countries. Conversely, substantive operational readiness and preparedness activities in a number of neighbouring countries have increased capacity to rapidly detect cases and mitigate local spread. These efforts must continue to be scaled-up and sustained.
(Continue . . . )
